Middle World
by SSJ2BlazeSG
Summary: "B-But...you can't! You can't leave me!" "I'm sorry...but this is something I must do." The figure began to trek closer to the cliff, his eyes transforming into a pure white, leaving no trace of their original blue. "Steve, no!" "That is no longer my name." Steve scoffed, "...But Herobrine would be just fine." With a lone feeling of guilt, he jumped off of the cliff.
1. Chapter 1

**Hey guys! So first off for this story: Chapter 1 was written after chapter 2, so it is ****really**** short compared to the second chapter. I plan on posting chapter two right after I post this, so I hope it covers up its shortness. Thanks, and enjoy reading this prologue like chapter!**

* * *

"Check this out! It looks like something you would find in Minecraftia, doesn't it?" The young man called out to his friend, who came running. The two inspected the 'thing': The Aether _never _had anything like what the boys had found. It could only be from the middle world, Minecraftia. It was...an ingot. "There's no way that could have come from here, so I think you're right, Steve." Steve turned to his friend, the heir of the Aether, Notch, and smiled. "Dude, I think someone from the middle world might be able to reach us somehow. There has to be a place where they are transporting the stuff from!" Steve almost jumped from his sitting position on the ground and ran towards the Aether temple. He was quickly followed by an obviously worried Notch as the two trailed towards the heir's home.

"Steve, you can't just run off like that!" Notch yelled as he began to slow his pace after the player. Unbeknownst to the prince, something had sparked in his friend. Something that may have altered everything he had known. Steve continued to run without turning his back or glancing behind him. He was suddenly determined to discover how and why the ingot had showed up in this world. He had always dreamed of a place besides the Aether. Of course he knew of the Nether, but he would definitely not live there. Only lately, about a few years ago did he find out about another world's existence. Ever since then, Steve had done whatever he could to learn anything about this middle world. It was neither like the Aether or the Nether. That's why he and Notch called it the "middle world."

Many times did Notch stop to catch his breath, but Steve never had to. Was his desire to go to Minecraftia stronger than his body's limitations? Or was it something else? The heir to the Aether had to keep going, he had to help his friend. No matter what Steve's true intention was, Notch was still his best friend. He needed to keep his promise of protecting him, and that's what he intended to do. Notch stood up, his aching body having no affect against his will, and began to trek after his friend. "I can't turn my back on you, Steve. Not after all of this time we've spent together. I won't let myself lose you." The prince was able to catch sight of Steve after walking for a bit, but the player was sitting against a tree. The blue eyed brunette opened his eyes to see Notch staring at him worriedly. "Steve...is something wrong?"

Said player shook his head, rising up from his resting position. "I was waiting for you to catch up." He remarked with a smirk. Notch walked over to where his friend was standing as they gazed off the cliff. "Nice view, isn't it? I get to see it everyday." The heir said as he looped his arm around the other's neck, causing both of them to smile. "Yeah, I guess." Steve perked up as he glanced at Notch. It surprised Notch when Steve walked out from his grasp and closer to the edge of the cliff. "St-Steve! Wh-what are y-you doing?!" The heir called to his friend as the player continued to near the edge. "I need to figure out where that ingot came from. Was it the Aether, or the middle world?" Steve kept his gaze away from Notch as he inquired to himself out loud. "B-But..you can't! You can't leave me!"

"I'm sorry...but this is something I must do." The brunette began to trek closer to the peak, his eyes transforming into a pure white, leaving no trace of their original blue. "Steve, no!" Steve scoffed, turning his head back to face the worried Notch. "That is no longer my name." The prince looked surprised as he faced his old friend. "...But Herobrine would be just fine." With a lone feeling of guilt, he jumped off of the cliff.


	2. Chapter 2

"Hey, dood...are you alright?"

"I-I think he's hurt! Pass me one of my potions!"

"Oh gosh...umm, a-are you okay?"

Steve lightly pushed his arms against the land as he tried to steady himself. He slowly got to his knees, but was able to slowly rise to his legs. "I-I think so..thank you.." He weakly pleaded, attempting to turn away from the group of Minecraftians. "I don't think you'll be able to walk steadily in your condition, sir." A young man in a silver and dark orchid robe tried to dissuade him. "Yeah, Seto's right, dood." A teenager with a red and black checkered hoodie agreed with the sorcerer.

"N-no, no...I'll be fine, no need to wor-" The player fell forward as his legs gave out under him. The group of ten immediately ran to his aid, all trying any means of assistance. "It _may_ be a good time to use the potions, if you would." A teen with long brown hair and neon green headphones suggested in an exasperated sigh. "No sh*t, sherlock." Another brunette with dark sunglasses covering his light brown eyes teased. He earned a light punch from the headphone wearer as a boy in a blue high tech space suit snickered at his friends' usual antics.

"Ian, can you give me the pot of healing?" Seto asked, reaching his hand out to another sunglasses wearer. "Here ya go." He replied, putting said item into the sorcerer's waiting hand, "Anything else you need?" Seto shook his head, sending the cake lover to tend to his own business. "You'll be okay, don't worry." He began to cast his spells as he let the rest of the group do as they pleased.

"How in the world did he get this hurt in a plains biome? It's not like he tripped on a rock or something-"

"Maybe he fell on a pebble."

"Yeah, like that would ever happen to anyone besides you." A girl with mismatching eyes shot back at the frog. "Whatever..." Kermit walked off with his arms crossed. He had just lost to a girl, more importantly, Dawn. "Dude," He was greeted by a Mudkip in a suit leaning against a rocky hill side, "Us _amphibians_ aren't that great with the ladies, y'know." The frog sighed, joining the Pokemon as he slid down onto the grassy field. "No _really?_"

"Do you have any food?" Mitch asked his furry friend as they sat together on the field. "Sorry, dood. I only have some vile creatures that I was going to prank you with." The bacca answered as nonchalantly as he could. The dog tag wearer's brown eyes widened in shock. "You were going to prank me with those...things?!" Jerome almost laughed as he tried to carry out the conversation with his best friend. "But I couldn't; Our friendship is too strong'k!"

Steve groggily opened his eyes, causing the sorcerer to cheer in success. He caught the rest of Team Crafted's attention as they all eventually returned to his position. "It's good that you're doing better than before, that's for sure." The amulet owner reassured the player, kneeling down to make eye contact. "We were never able to ask you: What's your name?" Steve rubbed his head at the astronaut's question. "I...really can't remember...I think my fall caused brain damage.."

"Sorry to hear that, but..where did you even fall _from_?I mean this is a _plains_biome. There isn't really any mountains near here..." Dawn extended from her 'theory talk' with Kermit. What the NPC said next completely _obliterated_ any logic the Minecraftians may have had.

"The Aether."

Team Crafted stared at Steve with the same dumbstruck expression on all of their faces. "A-are you...an angel?" Quentin managed to sputter out what the whole group was thinking. "Not exactly, I only lived in the Aether. My best friend was the heir to the throne, but...I can't remember anything else. It-it's all fuzzy." The team's members were all trying to come up with a way to put all of the pieces together for this "fallen angel", but nothing seemed logical.

"The fall may have tempered his memory partially," Seto began suddenly, snapping everyone out of their own individual thoughts. "Maybe with a good night's rest, it might be restored. Whad'dya think?" He turned his gaze to Steve. The player nodded understandingly and the group began to gather supplies for the night.

Everyone split into groups of two except for the inseparable trio of Sky, Ty, and Jason. Dawn and Kermit gathered wood, Quentin and Ian mined, Mitch and Jerome collected food, and Seto decided to stay with the stranger and consult his problems.

"Can you tell me _anything_ that you remember of the Aether?" The sorcerer questioned the player. "Well, like I said before: My best friend was the heir to the throne and we always played in his father's kingdom. He said that sometimes I am not really myself, but I don't know exactly what he means by that." Steve concluded, focusing solely on Seto and his reaction. "Okay...what was your friend's name?"

"Notch."

"Just as I expected, I just wanted to check." The sorcerer adjusted his cross-legged position as he mumbled a low 'Intriguing...'. "Thanks for letting me question you. I just want to try and repair your memory manually." Seto bowed his head, leaving Steve surprised. He had never felt this honored in his life, but maybe it was just the sorcerer's good naturedness. The NPC glanced in the same direction that Seto was staring off into to see the rest of Team Crafted with the items they were supposed to gather.

"Guys, over here!" Seto called, waving one hand above his head, the other cupping one side of his mouth. It took close to a minute for the whole group to arrive at their location. "It might have been a good idea to teleport them here instead, now that I think about it..." The sorcerer suggested later than he should of. The rest of the group collapsed to the ground, awaiting for the two non workers to do their share. Seto and Steve crafted wooden planks, a crafting table, and furnaces before starting on the structure.

"Alrighty!" The sorcerer exclaimed, catching the attention of the other knocked out members. "Just get your beds set up and then were done-" Seto fell backwards onto the ground, spreading out his arms and legs as he loudly sighed. "...we forgot to collect wool."

Inside of the wooden house, everyone slept on the cold grass flooring. Everyone stared at the sorcerer when he admitted to have used up all of his magic beforehand when he had to heal their 'visitor'. It was then that everyone wished that they could have helped a bit more with his recovery. The group of friends all laid for a while with the same annoyed expressions on their faces. That is, excluding the sorcerer himself and the stranger.

When the sun eventually rose, everyone got up immediately. "None of them got any sleep, I suppose." Steve intrigued as he stretched his arms out with a quick yawn. When he walked outside, all of the group was there except for Quentin, Kermit, and Seto. "Where did those three go?" The player asked, grabbing a few member's attention. "They're at the pond a little west of here." Jason gestured to his right (he's still pointing in the actual west direction) and waved off to Steve as the curious NPC trekked off.

"Sorry that they did this to you, buddy." Steve heard the frog's worried tone and walked at a faster pace. "Yeah, when we figured out, you were already here." Quentin too? The player began to jog before stopping to a halt when he reached the lake. "Took you long enough." Seto's voice sounded a bit muffled and bubbly, but Steve realized the cause. The sorcerer was tied and held underwater by rope, but was surrounded by a lavender aura that the fallen angel assumed was an air bubble.

"I can't believe they did this all because you guys didn't get wool..sheesh!" Quentin exclaimed as he tore apart the last knot of the rope holding Seto. Steve laughed nervously as he grabbed some from his small bag. "I guess I still had some from back home heheheh..." Seto stretched his right arm forward towards the NPC before blasting him back with a silver aurora of air. The two amphibians were surprised at how mad the stranger had made Seto, but then again, he almost died because of him. After Quentin and Kermit were able to free the sorcerer, he chased after Steve with purple fire exploding from his fists, pushing him forward like a jet pack.

"GET BACK HERE, D*MNIT!" The sorcerer screamed, causing the Mudkip to laugh as Kermit slowly trailed the two. "Wait 'til the rest of the Team sees this!" Quentin continued to snicker as he followed the frog, a smile tugging at his own lips. "I'M SORRY MAN!" They heard the stranger yell in return. The two quickened their pace. "I've _got_ to see this go down..."

"Hey...the new guy, Quentin, and Kermit have been gone for a while." Sky mentioned, disregarding anything about the sorcerer. As he opened his mouth to add on to his statement, the whole group saw a giant dust cloud heading their way. They distinguished the stranger...running for his life...and...Seto chasing him using sorcery. Yep, nothing new.

"What a temper he has!" Ty remarked and the rest of the group laughed in result. "You can _obviously_ see why we stay on his good side..." Ian chuckled, slowly moving out of the two's path. "WHY DON'T YOU JUST STOP AND LET ME GIVE YOU WHAT YOU DESERVE?" Seto's voice boomed from a distance, earning the sorcerer an immediately 'No!' from Steve.

"Why is there not a _single_ sheep around here?!"

After the two ran completely past the group, Quentin and Kermit walked nonchalantly behind the remains of the dust cloud. "Good fre*kin' job, now we've got a traumatized goatee guy and a p*ssed off sorcerer." Kermit didn't hesitate to completely state what just happened, but it still earned the Muppet character some stares. "What? It's true, you just saw them!" He pointed to the gigantic dust cloud again with a 'I'm not the stupid one' expression on his face. Everyone continued to laugh before actually leaving to retrieve the two.

When they arrived where they saw the two, Seto had already tackled the already exhausted Steve. The sorcerer was panting but continued to beat up the NPC sensuously. As he raised his right arm for a punch, Jason grabbed his wrist area to hold him back. "What the h*ll, man? Just leave him alone!" The astronaut let go of the sorcerer's arm and lightly pulled him off of the unconscious Steve. "Holy cr*p...what have I done? I-I..." Seto glanced back and forth between his hands and Steve wide eyed. "I..I'm sorry!" He cried out, realizing everything he had just done.

The only thing that the sorcerer didn't pay attention to was that he wasn't in control of his actions on purpose. He had felt as though someone had been...controlling him.


	3. Chapter 3

"Why...? Why did I do that?" The brunette asked himself as he stared up at the stars. A cool breeze blew by him, ruffling his hair and the grass surrounding him. "It wasn't you." He sat up, propping himself on his elbows as he glanced around. "Wh-who's there?" He called out as he continued to search for the owner of the voice. "What do you want with me? Tell me!" There was a long silence after the sorcerer's demand. The boy had already jumped up, his fists clenched as he gritted his teeth. Another breeze blew by and he released the tension in his fists. He closed his eyes as he exhaled deeply. A mischievous smile crept its way onto his face as his gaze darkened.

"Is that all?"

Another rest of sound was taken as the sorcerer stood silent, alone in the field. "I thought you knew I could sense auras, my prince." Seto suddenly kneeled down as he chuckled quietly. "I didn't think you'd be surprised by me sensing your presence...I just didn't want the others to know that you were here in the over world." The sorcerer stared down at the blowing grass below him, a smirk still present on his face. "Thank you for keeping this in secrecy. I'm still trusting you."

"One last thing before you go: Was it necessary to..control me?" Seto questioned as he raised his head up to see the heir of the Aether standing in front of him. The prince remained silent as he turned to his left and looked down, an unreadable expression written on his features. The brunette distinguished it as the heir being somewhat regretful. "I just want him back." With that, Notch disappeared in a gust of pure white wind, leaving Seto to himself. The sorcerer rose from his kneeling position, pushing himself up lightly with his hand before wiping dirt off of his robes. The brunette fell backwards, returning to his resting spot as he crossed his arms behind his head, his eyes flickering a dark orchid.

"If only you knew."

* * *

"Biggums, have you seen Betty? I know you would never lose her, but I can't find her anywhere." Jerome turned his head at Mitch's question. "I thought I told you that I was going to carry her around with me for safe keeping. I'm happy that I'm not the only one worried." The bacca smiled as Bajan continued to rummage through the group's chest. "Hey...Adam's chicken nugget butter isn't here..." The Canadian added as he pushed the other miscellaneous items around. "That's strange. He said he was going to leave it in the chest and for us not to touch it; He also didn't want to eat it all at one time."

"Yeah, I remember him saying something like that. Huh...he doesn't usually lie when it comes to his (chicken nugget) butter." Fluffy sat down on a wooden block close to the wall as he pondered on the thought of his friend's new behavior. "Dood...do you think that what is happening to Adam had anything to do with what happened to Seto?" Mitch turned away from the chest to face Jerome, his eyes narrowing in thought. "...I think you may be right, biggums."

"It's only a guess, but...what if that is true? We don't even know what exactly happened with Seto either-but we have to find Adam. I don't think it's too late to save Seto, but we can't let whatever happened to him happen to Adam!" The bacca jumped from the block he was sitting on and swiftly ran to the door. "Come on, dood, we have no time to waste!" Bajan quickly followed the fluffy as they went on their search for Adam. The only things that the two could think about were about the fate of their two friends. The sorcerer had disappeared, saying, "I-I can't risk hurting you guys." ...and who knows what may happen with Sky?

The two kept to their own thoughts as they continued off in the same direction. "What's happening with you guys?" Mitch thought to himself, keeping his gaze low towards the ground. "Are you doing this to yourselves, or is it a third party?" Worry was evident in his eyes as he kept trailing forward absentmindedly. He shook his head furiously in disbelief. "No. My friends wouldn't do this to themselves with out being forced to. Their wills are way too strong to be over come by some other person. It must be someone else doing this to them...but who?"

* * *

"Just get some ores and whatnot, alright? I'll check on you in an hour. You'd better be done by then or I'll have to take matters in my own hands."

"O-okay..." He stammered, nodding his head shakily. After the other figure was gone, he exhaled briefly. "There's nothing to be afraid of, Sky...it's only the Dillons and yourself...and the zombies and the creepers and the-This is going to be harder than I thought." The butter king admitted, grasping the golden pick in his hands. "I wonder why I chose to use butter for this...I don't even remember crafting this, now that you mention it..." Sky stopped before taking another step. "Could it be the stranger? Everyone knows not to touch my butter...it must be him!" Sky turned to exit the cave, but his body froze to a halt.

"Where do you think you're going?" The same voice from before asked from behind the butter king. "What...what did you do to me?" Sky struggled to turn around to see his oppressor, but his body would not respond. "I just paralyzed your body. I'll fix it after I'm done with you." The amulet owner stared off in front of himself in shock. ...Done with him? What did they mean by that?

"Hold still, Sky-oh wait! You already are!" The voice teased in a mocking tone. Sky blinked back from his thoughts as he heard footsteps approaching him. "You won't feel a thing." Sky gaped in surprise as the double toned voice faded into one that he was very familiar with. A single word escaped Sky's frozen figure as he met face to face with his captivator.

"Why...?"


	4. Chapter 4

"Sky! Wake up! Please..." The butter king's eyes opened groggily behind his dark sunglasses, his gaze immediately catching the worried Dawn's. He tried to sit up, but fell back onto his back in failure. He let out a weak chuckle as he shut his eyes. "I'm alright...I-I just can't remember anything." Dawn stared at him and soon returned the gesture, "What? Did you fall from the Aether, too?"

The commander heard faint laughter from behind Dawn, but the only thing that wasn't complete darkness was the girl herself. Sky stared at her in bewilderment. "What's wrong? I know you just woke up, but..y'know.." He shook his head at her question, refusing to show any sign of pain. He knew that she would freak out if he wasn't okay. As he continued to play innocent, a question still lingered in his mind: _Why can't I remember anything? _

Suddenly, a sharp pain shot through his head, leaving him clenching his teeth and squeezing his eyes shut in agony. No use hiding it from Dawn anymore. The mismatching girl shook the commander, pleading that he would be alright. During all of this, Sky heard whispers of voices in his head overlapping each other.

"You can't save your friends...you're too late...you will forever be nothing more than a mere pawn...prove your worth by being useful to someone other than yourself..."

More voices played in his head, each one speeding up and increasing in volume gradually.

Sky cried out, alarming Dawn as she began to hug him, tears falling from her eyes. As the pain eased, the commander laughed faintly, doing his best to reassure Dawn that everything was fine. Nevertheless, she wouldn't let go of the death grip she had on him. "Don't think I'm an idiot." She sniffled with a smile tugging at her lips, her grip loosening, "I think I can tell when my fiancé is in pain." ((This takes place before they break up)) Sky's vision shortly returned to normal, and he realized that it _was_ only Dawn in the room. He narrowed his eyes as he grabbed at the blanket that Dawn put over him tightly, his gaze falling. When she wasn't looking, he muttered a question in a low whisper.

"Where did those voices come from?"

* * *

"Ian, have you seen Adam?" The brunette teen asked, Jerome standing next to him. "I think Dawn said that she was taking care of him at the camp." Bajan turned to the fluffy and bit his lip. "I think we're too late." Ssundee eyes opened in confusion. "Too late for what?"

"Guh...it's too hard to explain...basically, we have a theory, and we think Adam has fallen subject to it." Mitch covered up most of the story, but it was best that no one else knew. The Canadian turned around and began to trek back to the camp site "Thanks for your help." Jerome piped up for his friend with a wave before running to catch up with him. _He must really be into this case_, the Bacca thought. Ssundee just watched the two slowly walk off before heading off in the opposite direction. "Hmm...I have to wonder what those two do..."

"Any leads?" Jerome questioned as he glanced at his friend. "I-I can't put the clues together, so no leads so far. We do have some things to investigate before I can conclude this. I just hope we'll be able to...for Seto and Adam."

"Where are we heading now, the camp site to check on Adam?" The fluffy added on, Bajan still keeping his gaze low in thought as he mumbled to himself. "Mitch?" The brunette teen jumped suddenly at the sound of his name. "Too into the clues, I'm guessing?" With a light chuckle, Mitch rubbed the back of his head. "Heheh..yeah...it-it's just interesting to think about-oh yeah, and we are going to check on him; To collect more clues and to make sure he's okay. Ian didn't really say what happened. We should pick up the pace." The Canadian began to jog and gestured for the Bacca to follow.

"Watch out, bad-doers! The detective team of the Benja and the Bacca are coming for you!"

* * *

"_...East..._"

"What? East...?" Sky questioned out loud, standing up from collecting water in a bucket for the team. "The voices...no..no, no, no, no, no! Not again!" Sky fell to his knees and grabbed at he silky brown hair as he awaited for the pain to shoot through his head. After a few moments, he opened his eyes and slowly glanced side to side innocently. "Th-that...was it?" He inquired as he began to finish gathering water. He set the bucket down, its containments slightly bouncing against the sides.

"East, huh..." He shifted his gaze to his right and trekked absentmindedly

just as the voice told him to. "This may come in handy if there is actually something here." He smirked and glanced up at the sky. "Well, it's still early enough to head off, I guess."

From under the lake, Kermit swam up from his nap and looked for the commander. "Buddy..?"

* * *

Bajan was the first to walk into the small wooden cabin the group has set up, Jerome trailing closely behind him. "Um, Dawn?" Mitch looked around the small room, hoping to find the female. "Yeah?" Her sudden response scared the two as she walked in behind them. "What's wrong?"

"Oh, um..nothing. You just scared me." The Canadian admitted before laughing faintly. "We were wondering if Adam was here, but I guess he isn't. Have you seen him?" Jerome continued for his friend as Dawn almost stepped back in surprise. "You think I wouldn't know where my own fiancé is?" Mitch laughed a bit louder at his biggums's answer, but ceased to continue after the Bacca's next question. "Then how come you didn't know where he was before you found him?"

"Touché..."

"Can you tell us where he is right now?" Mitch tried to cover for his friends' conversation that was far from relevant. "He said he was well enough to walk and went to gather water. He has been gone for awhile, so you should go check on him, I'd appreciate it." The mismatching girl sent the two off with a smile that seemed to force the "detectives" to leave.

"We're on a roll! I think we finally have a lead on this-"

"No, I don't think so." Mitch interrupted the fluffy, raising his gaze. "I don't think Adam would be able to recover that fast. Yeah, he could _say_ he was okay, but _being_ something and _acting _like something are two completely different things. I really don't think he's okay; Something is definitely going on."

"But what? We don't know exactly what is going on. Another theory you have about his behavior relating to Seto's? Or-wait...what if that is it! I think I know what we have to do next." Bajan smirked at Jerome's change of thought. "I'm happy you caught on, Biggums. Are you ready to finally start investigating for real?"

"You bet I am! And all we have to do is find Seto!"


	5. Chapter 5

Footsteps echoed from the field as Mitch and Jerome trekked onward absently. The bacca stayed a bit farther back from Bajan, but the teen didn't take any excessive notice. "Hey Mitch," Jerome began, picking up his pace and glancing at the small, metal device in his friend's hand. "What's that?" He asked as he pointed to the device.

"Something that's going to help us find Seto; a metal detector-no, more specifically, a silver detector. And we're 'detecting' that crown of his." Mitch replied with a smirk, Jerome's eyes sparkling at his friend's invention. "...But it looks like a compass, how could it be a metal detector?"

"I did some tweaks the night that we finished the house because I couldn't sleep-well, that was probably because we didn't have beds...It's gonna work, Biggums!" He shouted after getting off track in his explanation. As the two laughed together, they found themselves approaching a small hill.

Bzz! Bzz! Bzz!

This must be it, the two thought in unison. All their "detective" work has led up to this, and they didn't plan to fail. Both of them began to investigate the hill, looking for any signs of their friend. Jerome gasped in joy as he found a small trail of indents in the hill. "He must have moved it with magic, or something! Maybe we could dig it out-"

As if on cue, Mitch tossed the Bacca a shovel. "I come prepared." He smiled, leaning on his own digging tool. The two began to dig where the signs of erosion showed the most.

"Why are you guys digging here in the middle of no where?"

The two turned around to see exactly who they were looking for. "Hmmm?" Seto questioned, his arms crossed as he impatiently tapped his foot. Bajan and Jerome shook off their dumbstruck faces. The metal detecting compass quickly turned to face the sorcerer and began to buzz.

Mitch wanted to face palm so much, and he bet his furry friend would too as Seto continued to stare at them, holding back a laugh. "I think it's delayed-"

"I can see that!" The Canadian whispered back at the bacca in a hush through gritted teeth.

"We were...um...looking for you...?" Jerome quickly covered for the two's plan, hoping that the sorcerer would buy it.

"Thanks for caring, but I'm fine. I'm happy you guys came. I haven't had company in quite a while." Seto shot back, careful to not arouse the two any further that he already did. "...You want some explaining, I'm guessing."

"How did you..."

"Call it a hunch." He smirked, conjuring up three chairs for the trio to sit in. Mitch and Jerome reluctantly copied the sorcerer's gesture as they all sat down. "So, where do you want to begin?"

"How about with Adam. What did you do to him?" The fluffy began, happy that the two's interminable case may finally come to a close. He half expected an answer from the magic user.

"Eh, just a bit of sorcery to control his actions and what not."

He answered so nonchalantly that the two almost fell out of their newly-conjured seats. "Why is he telling us so casually?" Jerome thought to himself, and could easily tell that Bajan was thinking the same thing.

"Did you do anything to the others?" Jerome continued to inquire the sorcerer. If he answered these serious questions as if they weren't of importance, then they could figure out as much as they needed to without a conflict!

"No, I only used Sky, no one else. I felt as though someone would pick up on a trend like that. I guess that you guys figured out I had something to do with it before I made another move." The magic user confessed, shifting in his seat as he eyed the other two's silent gestures to each other.

"W-What about the stranger? Do you know anything about him?" The hoodie wearing teen spoke up in a curious tone. He awaited Seto's answer as he glanced back and forth between the sorcerer and the fluffy.

"Him? That's Steve...y'know, best friend of the prince of the Aether, Notch?"

"How did he know his name? Even the stranger _himself_ didn't know!"

Jerome asked himself in his mind. He noticed that the sorcerer wasn't paying much mind to the two's questions.

Mitch glared at Seto cautiously. Something seemed...different about him. Jerome leaned over to his friend and whispered in his ear. "What should we ask-"

"What about you?"

Mitch's question took Jerome aback. "W-what?!" He whispered loudly in response to the teen's shout. An amused smile tugged at the sorcerer's lips as he began to laugh. "Me?" He pointed to himself, any seriousness left in their conversation fading.

Bajan didn't expect this kind of response from Seto. "Yeah." He replied wearily.

"I'm just serving the heir himself." He admitted with a proud smile. Jerome's mouth hung open before he quickly shook off the answer the sorcerer had given him.

"Y-you didn't tell anyone this?!" The bacca shouted in surprise.

"Nope." Seto chirped, causing Jerome to whisper to his friend. "Are you sure he's alright?" Mitch nodded and suddenly stood up from his chair. "Thanks Seto. Do you mind if we..tell the others?"

Jerome turned to Mitch as if he were crazy. What is he thinking?! The sorcerer's answer probably shocked the bacca the most. "I don't care, do what you want."

"We'll be on our way then, thanks for your time." As the two turned and left, Seto shouted a goodbye.

As the magic user waved the two friends off, hints of purple trailed his fingertips. His innocent grin faded into a naive smile. Two puffs of silvery smoke rose from Mitch and Jerome, but they continued to walk like they didn't notice, unscathed from the sudden sorcery.

"Memory wiping magic, huh?" The hoodie wearer thought to himself. He chuckled silently, a mischievous smirk tugging at his lips. His gaze darkened as he pulled out his dog tag from under his shirt.


	6. Chapter 6

That night, Dawn couldn't fall asleep. Sky hadn't returned and she couldn't stop thinking about him. Sighing to herself, she pushed the silky red blanket off of her body and took a coat that hung next to her bed and put it on.

One step away from the door, she heard a moan. Did she wake someone up? "D-Dawn? Is that you?" She froze as she heard Ty's voice in the darkness. She glanced around nervously before replying. "...Yes..."

The brunette got up from his bed and walked up to the female. "Why are you.." He yawned as he stretched, cutting off his sentence mid-way. "..up so late? Something bothering you?"

"Yeah." She answered, half expecting a quick reply.

"Something to do with Sky, I'm guessing." Dawn was surprised at how fast the teen had figured out. "I-I couldn't sleep, either. I'm scared something happened to him."

"Wait a second...have you seen Kermit?" Dawn asked out of no where. "Did he go after Adam? I haven't seen either of them the whole day after Sky went to get some water."

Ty pushed his hair back and adjusted the collar of his shirt, grabbing a coat of his own.

"I guess we have a place to start looking."

* * *

"Mitch! You're a genius!" Jerome exclaimed. Mitch smiled triumphantly as the two sat on the Canadian's bed. "T-Thanks..."

"Wait," The fluffy began, questions arousing in his mind. "If he used magic to try and wipe our memories, how come we remember the conversation we had with him? I bet he planned to tell us everything then use his sorcery to make us forget!"

"Check around your neck."

Jerome did as his friend told him to and soon found a dog tag surrounded by his fur. "When did this...?"

"The night I made the metal detector. I tweaked the compass, _and_ 'upgraded' the dog tags." He pulled his dog tag out from under his shirt and flipped it over, revealing a small, metal circle attached to it. "I got it from the sorcerer himself!"

"How? Didn't he take his stuff with him when he left?" The bacca questioned his friend's seemingly 'flawless' plan. Mitch smiled proudly as he pulled out the tweaked compass from the drawer next to his bed.

"Simple, I used the metal detector to test it out and see if it would work, and I found these as a bonus." Jerome flipped his over and found a similar metallic circle attached to the back of his own dog tag.

"I think it's okay to say that I out did myself with this trick. I had it planned out the first night we got here. It was just finding those magic proof devices that held it all together."

"I suppose we should at least try to get some sleep. Who knows what might happen tomorrow?" The furry creature got off of his friend's bed and walked over to his own. Sitting on his own comfy bed, he reached behind his back and assumed to find his beloved diamond axe, but all he found was two, loose strings that usually held the tool.

"Mitch..." Jerome began, turning to the brunette teen nervously. "...We lost Betty."

* * *

East. The direction the voice told him to go in.

East. The direction the stranger built a small cabin in.

East. The direction that he was going in right now.

Sky walked, dazed, with a few golden ingots in his arms, as well as a few other items that the members of Team Crafted loved. Mitch and Jerome's Betty, Ian's cake, Ty's headphones, Jason's helmet, Kermit's rose, Husky's tie, and Dawn's hair brush.

He was absolutely sure that the Aethian wasn't at his cabin. But basing your theories on voices in your head shouldn't always be your best bet.

Sky tackled the door, slamming his side against it in an attempt to burst in. He quickly fell to the ground inside. "The door was unlocked? Wow..." He sighed to himself as he walked over to the stranger's wooden chest.

The commander dropped all of the members belongings into the chest clumsily before leaving the house.

Unbeknownst to him, a certain frog was following him and watching his every move.

* * *

"Sky! Kermit!" Ty yelled as he and Dawn neared the pond that the two roommates were at earlier. "...Are you sure they were here?"

"Yeah. Adam said he was going to get water and I remember Dakota being there." The female replied, still looking around for the two missing members. "D'you think Quentin would know where they are? He hangs around with the frog a lot."

"Hmm..maybe. I'll call him now." Ty fished for his phone in his pocket and pulled it out. He flipped it open with a flick of his wrist and began to dial the Pokèmon's phone number.

After a few rings, the mudkip answered the phone. "Hey, Ty. What's up?"

"Have you seen Kermit? We think that he may know where Sky is."

The brunette could practically hear the despair in Quentin's voice. "No, I haven't...last time I heard from him was earlier today when we had lunch together."

"Well, we'll tell you when we hear anything about him, thanks." Ty shut his phone and shoved it back in his pocket. "C'mon Dawn. Let's keep looking."

* * *

"The coast is clear, you can come out now."

A small torrent of wind circled in front of the young sorcerer, the prince of the Aether appearing when the gale subsided. Seto kneeled when Notch had fully entered the scene. "Everything is going just as I planned; the two came and 'interrogated' me, and then I wiped their memories." Seto smirked proudly at his successful scheme.

"Good, good...anything else?" The prince continued, wanting any other news from his follower. The magic user nodded his head.

"The commander has been doing exactly what I've told him to. He's taken things from the other members of the team and placed them in Steve's cabin. If anyone figures out what has happened to there 'beloved leader', they'll ask him what happened and he'll do exactly what I wanted him to."

"And what would that be?"

"Tell them that a certain 'fallen angel' has been doing all of this."


	7. Chapter 7

As Sky continued to walk down the dirt trail of the forest carelessly, he heard quiet footsteps nearing him. At first, he paid no mind, but when he turned, he was met by Kermit tackling him.

They rolled to the side of the path and down a small hill that was lined with trees. The commander struggled to free himself of the frog's grip, but to no avail. When the two finally came to a stop, Kermit began to pummel the brunette.

"Where's the real Sky?! Tell me the truth, imposter!"

"You're looking at him, frog." He shot insultingly. Kermit punched him in the gut. "I totally fr*ggin' believe you!" He yelled, his voice dripping with sarcasm. "And that's exactly why I ambushed you in the first place!"

"Eh, your choice." Sky shrugged his shoulders, smiling slightly. The frog slapped him in the face. "Wipe that smile off your face, b*tch. You're gonna tell me what happened to Adam."

"Sky" pushed himself out from under Kermit and put one of his hands in his pocket without the frog noticing, the other in the air as if he were surrendering. "It's quite simple actually." The smirk grew on his face as he pulled a red and white pill out of his pocket and in a blink of an eye, threw it into Kermit's open mouth.

"First, you fell for my trap."

The frog choked at first, but before he knew it, the pill had already gone down his throat.

The two were stopped at loud footsteps as Dawn and Ty came running two wards them. "There you two are!" The female shouted. She ran to Sky's side and hugged him tightly with her eyes shut, oblivious to the fact that her own fiancé might actually hurt her, especially at such close range.

Ty walked over to the previously fighting roommates. "We've been looking for you."

Kermit opened his mouth to speak so he could warn them about Sky, but he just couldn't make a sound. He let out a low growl through his gritted teeth. "_D*mn_ _you..._"

The frog casted a glance towards Sky, who smirked evilly when he caught the gaze. "_That can't be him...and if it was, he wouldn't be able to pull off such a h*ll of an act like this one._"

"Are you guys alright? You're both pretty bruised up." Dawn asked the two.

Kermit bit his lip and nodded his head. He had to pull off an act of his own.

"Yeah, we were taking a walk after getting the water and fell down the hill after tripping on a big log. It's was too dark out to see, so we just stayed here. We were going to leave in the morning, but I guess we don't have to." Sky said innocently, hiding a smirk after seeing Kermit's reaction. _So he's going to play along_, the commander thought.

Nobody questioned Kermit's inability to speak, however, much to his displeasure. If they did, Sky would just lie, saying, "Oh, he lost his voice because of the dryness of the air tonight."

He exhaled in a quiet growl, repeating the same words in his mind. "_D*mn you..._"

"We should head back to the camp." Ty suggested to the other three, who nodded after. They all stayed together, but Kermit kept glaring at Sky. He still wondered why the once good hearted commander would do this. _Will it ever wear out?_

When they arrived in front of the group's house, Dawn pulled out a walkie talkie. She turned it on and put it close to her mouth. "GUYS! WAKE UP, IT'S IMPORTANT!"

The three men covered their ears in some kind of defense after she yelled. "Why are you screaming?"

"Why not?"

She was answered by a sigh of defeat.

Everyone eventually made their way out of the house; some rubbing their eyes, others with blankets tightly held in their hands. They all had the same question.

"Why did you wake us up in the middle of the night?!"

"I'm calling a group meeting." Dawn answered immediately. She gestured for the members to walk to the back of the house, and they did as they were told. Behind the house, they found a long wooden table.

Everyone took their seats, Sky at the head of the table, and Dawn at the other. There was one seat that was empty, and nobody questioned it because they knew exactly who it was.

* * *

"Maybe I should check on those guys...it's been a few days since I've been there." A certain Aethian muttered to himself, walking through his small house in circles. He walked towards the door, but tripped on something that he couldn't catch.

"Ugh...what was that?" He asked himself as he held his head and looked back.

He saw a diamond axe.

"H-How did this get here? I d-didn't have a diamond a-anything!"

The player crawled over to the tool and examined it. He didn't recognize it, nor was it his own. "I-I better just leave it here for now..maybe its owner will come and get it."

He got up and headed for the door, opening it with his open hand and began to trek towards Team Crafted's campsite.

* * *

"One more dash of redstone dust and that'll do it."

The figure rubbed their fingers together, graining the powder into a potion bottle with other containments. As they lodged the cork into the top of the syringe, they shook the potion to mix it all together.

They uncorked the glass bottle and tipped it against their lips and swallowed the mix with a gulp, their body fading into clearness.

With a swift motion, they placed the empty potion down and grabbed a small device that had a few buttons on it.

"I better start heading to the meeting. They might start to miss me!"


	8. Chapter 8

"This meeting is going to focus on what happened to everyone's stuff that recently went missing. Hopefully, we can figure something out."

The commander's voice was loud and stern. No signs of falter in his voice, presumably from lying.

"We have to look at the facts that we know, and clues that we have found. Only then will we be able to fully determine a culprit." He continued, making unnecessary hand gestures to match his speech.

Kermit scowled at him quietly. "_You lying son-of-a-b*tch._"

Bajan nudged his furry friend as they continued to listen to the brunette's fake talk. If Sky wasn't being controlled, he wouldn't even know what he was saying!

"Now, let's see what we have so far..." He shifted his gaze to Ssundee, "Ian, do you have anything?"

The cake lover shook his head. "No..."

"Mudkip?"

"Nada."

He skipped over Kermit. "Jason?"

The astronaut also shook his head. "Sorry."

"Honey? How about you?" Sky asked his fiancé. He received a quick 'no' from her. "Uh, Ty?" His tone lost its steadiness. "Nope." The headphone wearer's answer only helped his desperateness.

The amulet owner skipped the empty chair that was on Ty's left and went straight to the bacca. "Fluffy?" Jerome flinched at his name being called. "N-No.." He cursed at himself under his breath. If he stuttered, Sky might get suspicious! "What about you, Mitch?"

There was no response.

"Mitch?" Everyone at the table turned to the now-pale looking teen. "A-Are you alright?"

His voice faltered.

"O-oh! Sorry, I kinda zoned out there." Bajan lied, hiding a smirk. "_If I can keep this up, they'll figure out..._" He decided to go on with his plan. "And sorry, I don't have anything."

Sky sighed. "We need a place to start. What about-"

He was stopped when he heard footsteps from behind him. He turned to see the stranger, who had a sheepish grin on his face. "Uh, hey guys.." He trailed off quietly. Everyone's eyes lay on him as he kept his eyes glued to the floor and the nervous, yet ridiculous smile on his face.

Sky tried his best to hide a smile, but a small one showed. "All of our missing stuff was in your house, y'know."

"_D*mn it!_"

"I-I was walking through my house and tripped on a diamond axe-is that yours?"

Jerome jumped up almost instantly. "Yes! That's our Betty!" Mitch elbowed him in the stomach. "You're proving his point!" He hissed out for only the bacca to hear.

The fluffy sat down and tried to regain a calm composure.

"That's one point against him..." Bajan whispered to Jerome. The furry creature wanted to facepalm himself.

"-Aaaand you are the most suspicious because you hid everything about yourself, memory loss or not."

"_Why is this going out perfectly in his favor? Did Adam plan this out, or something? A really complicated scheme, huh?_"

"I..I.." The Aethian stammered, unsure of what to say and or do, knowing that it would probably be used against him.

"Whadd'ya say..._Steve?_"

Everyone at the table turned to the commander. "H-How do you know his name..?"

Sky clenched his fists. "D*mmit! D*mmit, d*mmit, d*mmit!" He hissed to himself, but tried to remain calm. "I-I...h-he told m-me!" He had failed.

His voice faltered.

The majority glanced back at Steve. "Did you?"

"No...I didn't..." The NPC said, scared of speaking any more than needed. The team wasn't sure of what to believe, nevertheless do anything about it. They didn't even know if another member would turn on them, like Sky did.

Only Mitch and Jerome knew that it wasn't the commander's intentions to do this to his own group. Only them, and-

"Seto!" Bajan whispered to the bacca, "Seto knows what's going on! If we can find him again, maybe we can figure something out!"

Jerome nodded absently. "We have to wait until after the meeting, or they'll think that something's up. I wouldn't blame them, after this turn of events."

The air was filled with yells and shouts, objections and approvals. Nobody could distinguish or understand anything that the other members were saying, it was just a mess of arguments. That was, until Steve took it upon himself to end it.

"Stop! Stop, stop, **STOP**!"

That last word was loud and double toned. The player's eyes were now a pure, glowing white and his pained expression was replaced by an evil one.

A devilish smirk was set upon his face as he cackled evilly to himself.

"Steve...?" Sky asked nervously, half expecting an answer.

"I shall not be addressed by that name by the likes of you." He scoffed, "My name is Herobrine."

As the demon walked closer to the group, his footsteps dented the ground like a giant. The team's members quaked in their boots. They didn't want to die like this!

Stomp. Stomp. Stomp.

He grabbed the commander by his collar and lifted him out of his chair. The butter lover struggled to free himself of the demon grasp, but failed to do so.

Herobrine continued to laugh as Sky kept struggling to get out of his grasp. Dawn was crying, Kermit still couldn't talk, Quentin, Ty, and Ian didn't know what to do, and Mitch and Jerome were trying to pry Adam out of the demon's hold, and soon, the other four men joined them.

Sky was choking as the man's hold tightened on his throat. "_I..I don't want to die...please..._"

"Maybe, today, you shall." Herobrine said, answering the brunette's thought without the mortal even saying it. Sky, at first, was surprised, but when it's an other worldly being we're talking about, what could you expect, the ability to know if your prey is stupid enough to walk through a basement alone with a low-battery flashlight, yelling, "Hello? Is there anyone supernatural here?"

Sky snapped back to reality from his ridiculous (yet very true) speculation of like, every scary movie that existed before 3D, when he felt the demon's hold on him lift. He bleakly opened his eyes to see that there was a line of torn skin with blood slowly leaking out of it under Herobrine's left eye.

He turned to his left to see a broken splash potion bottle.

Adam then heard light footsteps to his right, so he shifted his gaze there. To his dismay, there was no one there.

"It's time." He heard a familiar voice say. That must be the invisible guy, the commander thought to himself.

The amulet owner _did_ find it weird that the demon had stopped and was frozen in place.

A gust of wind and stark smoke twisted in a cyclone and the prince appeared. He glanced to his right, probably where the invisible man was, then back to Herobrine. "You're not Steve. Herobrine, was it?"

The man still could not move, but Notch knew that he would have nodded with a laugh, or something evil like that. "I can not forgive you for taking my best friend away. Possessing him was terrible enough, but putting him against his friends? That's just _wrong_. I do deem it worthy of banishing your spirit into the depths of the Nether, where you shall perish."

Everyone, except for Herobrine and Notch, watched on in confusion and, or fear. This new person seemed fair and gave off a feeling of security. Their shared fear diminished, much to their pleasure, as they continued to do the only thing that they could do.

Merely watch the scene play out.

The prince held out his arm and a sky blue sphere began to materialize in front of his hand as it circled and grew in size. Before Notch released the sphere of energy, Sky was lifted from Herobrine by a strange force that he could not distinguish. It felt strangely familiar to be foreign.

The commander was left on the side to spectate what was about to play out next.

Herobrine was-amazingly-still stuck in place, and Notch's energy ball was nearly as tall as him. From the prince's right side, silver sparkles drew into the sphere, building up the object's power.

As he sent the energy ball forward towards the frozen demon, another hand appeared out of thin air, joining the movement and added it's/their own magic to the sphere: a purple aurora to push it faster towards Herobrine.

It seemed that the invisibility effect was wearing off. Past the hand, the figure's arm began to reappear. So did their legs and body. And soon, their face.

Seto had a determined smirk on his face as he and the Aethian prince sent the ball of energy towards the possessing spirit in a swift blow.

When the energy sphere made contact with its target, it simply passed through him. Herobrine laughed, amused at how their best attempt of stopping him had failed. He still couldn't move, but felt that he didn't need to if his enemy's best attack couldn't even touch him. (Literally!)

However, the two didn't stop at the sight of its failure. They continued to send it on.

When Herobrine was in the direct center of the transparent object, he winced in invisible pain.

"W-What's going on?!" Sky yelled out in somewhat disbelief, eyes as wide as saucers behind his dark sunglasses. "Everything that is supposed to." The sorcerer assured the other brunette, trying to relieve him a bit. Adam nodded absently as he continued to watch on.

Suddenly, there was a bright flash of light, and everyone shielded their eyes. When they could finally look back, the sphere was gone and there were two identical men on the ground next to each other: One on their back, who looked unconscious, and spread out like a snow angel, and the other on their stomach, their white eyes narrowed and a streak of blood trailing from the corner of their mouth.

Herobrine was covered in bruises and the occasional cuts with blood. His teeth were clenched and his eyes were fighting to remain open, the pain becoming overwhelming to him. He stretched his arm out and energy began to gather. In a brief moment, the ball exploded into covering the whole team including Notch. He chuckled out his last words. "I'll be back...!"

And in a flash, their memories, and the demon, were gone.

. . .

. . .

They say that the random person that you walked by may have potentially been your best friend.

_Thud!_

They say that every time you make a decision, a whole new world is created, parallel to the current one.

"_Oh! I'm so sorry! A-Are you alright?_"

They say that there are three worlds.

_He held out his hand to the other man and helped him up. _

They say that each one is a piece of a puzzle.

"_I'm alright, thank you_."

They say that there is an Over World.

"_I-I'm sorry for not introducing myself, I'm Steve!_"

They say that there is an Under World.

_They shook hands, smiling to each other_.

They say that there lies one in between the two, keeping balance.

"_I'm Seto_."

A Middle World.

But you never crossed paths, and never created that new world.

So until you do, that person will, and always will be, nothing more than what they are now.

A stranger.

* * *

**Hey guys! Well, this is the end of Middle World, so I hope you enjoyed it. I want to thank you guys for your continued support for my fics, especially this one and Alternate Past. You should check that out if you haven't yet, I highly recommend it. I think this turned out better than the Combined Power, which was my first fanfic. I feel like overall, this turned out better than I expected! I compared these two, and I think I like this one better. What do you guys think? Although at times I would have no idea what would happen next, (probably because I contradicted myself so many times and that I had to fix plot holes by changing events) I think I pulled through in the end. I hope you guys enjoyed this story, and I'll see you next post!**


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